Independent agencies across the Middle East have introduced a new Collaboration Code to create a clearer framework for working together on larger and more complex client assignments.
The framework was unveiled during the second CEO Summit of the Alliance of Independent Agencies Middle East and builds on discussions from the group’s inaugural summit, which encouraged the industry to move beyond traditional requests for proposals towards requests for partnerships.
The latest summit examined how independent agencies can bring together specialist expertise while maintaining defined responsibilities, strong client relationships and accountability.
Data presented during the event showed that 95% of independent agency CEOs had worked with another independent agency over the previous year. However, participants also pointed to challenges including identifying the right specialist partner, agreeing commercial terms, building trust, handling competitive dynamics and maintaining quality standards.
Eight Principles for Agency Collaboration
The Collaboration Code outlines eight principles intended to guide independent agencies when entering joint opportunities:
- Client First
- Capability First
- One Clear Lead
- Clear Lanes
- Commercials Before Work
- No Surprises
- Respect the Relationship
- Win & Reflect Together
Alongside these principles, the framework features a decision tree that agencies can use to evaluate potential partnerships. It helps determine whether an opportunity is suitable, whether the required expertise exists within the participating agencies and whether collaboration can strengthen the proposed client solution and improve the likelihood of success.
Once agencies agree to work together, the framework recommends establishing key areas such as leadership, responsibilities, commercial terms, confidentiality, decision-making and ownership before presenting themselves to a client as a unified team.
Nick Walsh, Founder of Migrate and Alliance Middle East regional partner, said the second summit had moved the conversation around collaboration from ambition to practical implementation.
“The Collaboration Code gives independent agencies a shared way to make better decisions, build stronger teams around client challenges and protect the trust that collaboration depends on,” he said.
Walsh added that independents did not need to replicate the network model to compete for larger opportunities.
“Their strength lies in specialist expertise, entrepreneurial thinking and proximity to clients,” he said. “The opportunity now is to make that model easier for clients to buy, manage and scale by creating clearer rules of engagement around leadership, ownership, commercials and shared success.”
The Collaboration Code will now be developed as a practical resource for Alliance members and will become the second chapter of the wider Alliance Code. The first chapter focused on the organisation’s Request for Partnership approach.
According to the Alliance, the framework is designed to give brands easier access to specialist independent agencies while creating greater clarity around accountability and leadership when multiple agencies work together.
The Alliance of Independent Agencies Middle East was brought to the region by Migrate in partnership with The Alliance of Independent Agencies UK, which was founded in 2018. The organisation represents independent agencies working across areas including marketing, communications, advertising, strategy, creative, digital, media, data, PR and experience design.
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